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MG MGF Technical - Gear shift

It's been a hellishly..crap easter...the worst problem
- I won't bore you with ( let's just call it 'domestic' )
But..It looks like a damn good few days of driving and looking up old friends in the Lakes may not happen !

My gearshift gave a Kerchunk noise....now is very floppy ( nothing happening ) front to back..and no sideways movement. Have I got a snapped cable ?
and where is it most likely to have come adrift ?

I'm betting this isn't a side of the road job.....


Grrrrrrrr!
Grahame

Check on the underside of the car, just in front of the engine. There SHOULD be 2 cables connected.

Johan
Johan Slagter

I had this on my VVC - it turned out to be a clip holding the cable in position. Cheap - even for a main dealer - to fix.
Hope it's that simple on yours.
Steve

Thanks for that Steve.....I needed the hope.

Grahame

Failing either of the suggestions above, check the rear bell crank where the cables meet the gearbox (rear leftish of engine). There're two ball and socket joints for the forwards/backwards and side-to-side movement of gear stick.

The forwards/backwards went on my VVC a couple of months ago, turned out one of the balls had popped it's socket. Ten second job to pop it back in.

Col
Colin McIlwaine

Grahame, hopefully it is just a cable that has become disconnected from the gearbox selector bell-crank - but if not, then your original diagnosis is likely to be right: a broken selector cable :o(
Rob Bell

Thanks for the replies

The damn thing went ..just as I was reversing in front of my house.....
That's a shame ..said the AA man on the phone. If it had been anywhere else we'd have put it on the back of a truck and taken it to a garage.

The £500 parts and labour only kicks in if they are called out and can't fix it.
Give him his due..he knew about MGFs..they send the truck out anyway.....BUT NOT IN FRONT OF YOUR HOUSE.

Has anyone here pushed a car 2 or 3 miles ?

Grahame

I take it you don't have homestart, otherwise it's covered.
Mike
Mike (Kuala Lumpur)

Colin and Steve

I have a VVC too......do you think having one causes you to change gear too much ( and wear it out ) ?

Mike

I don't have homestart.....I mean, what are the chances of your car breaking down while it's parked?

Irony.

( I speak as someone who finds himself marrooned at home quite frequently ....! )

Grahame
Grahame

Well, it might not start, hence the name.

Johan
Johan Slagter


........snapped cable.......

front and back....thats the upper cable I think.

Just off to get a replacement.
Grahame

you don't feel like putting it in second at the gearbox, and driving three miles away then! (just start with the cluch in, and don't do any hill starts!
Will Munns

Grahame,

Glad to hear you sussed out the problem, pity it was a cable and not just the ball/socket ;-(

Regarding 'extra' gear changes... I suppose I *do* change gear more often than in, say, my wife's Scenic, but I guess I just like driving the F the way it's supposed to be driven: hard.

Let me just qualify that: it is mostly drops from fifth to fourth to get that extra overtaking grin ;-)

Good luck,
Col
Colin McIlwaine

Will

the 25m stretch of road outside the house is flat..followed by a scarily steep hill one side and a fairly steep one the other direction then a sharp right to one of the busiest roads on Sheffield.

So...no , couldn't face nursing it 2 or3 miles..plus
theres a fair chance I can be driving it again by tomorrow night by going local ( little friendly garage that laughs at me every time I show up ) If I go the AA route I could be waiting the minimum of a week.

I've got the cable from the dealer.....£69.95 ..ouch..( they only had one )and am just off to strip out the cubby and t bar before the little garage round the corner starts wrestling with the cable.

Colin

I do like to 'drive' the car...so anything to get it up and running.
I'm accepting that owning the MG isn't just transport..it's starting to be a way of life !



Grahame
Grahame

Grahame,

Do as Will says. From below the car engage directly the gearbox into 2nd and start the car. It can be driven to where you want.

When my cable went, the car was stuck in reverse. I engaged 3rd and did like 20 miles that way. Even starting from standstill and motorway.

If there's no fwd and aft movement then it's the lower cable that snapped, the shorter one, that is.

Are you planing to DIY?

Regards,

Valter.
Valter

Valter

I've printed out your instructions.. and we'll be using them to do the job.

Hopefully this afternoon. The small garage ( 2 mechanics ) are happy for me to strip out what I can to make the job easier ( and cheaper ).

I'll be helping to thread the cable..but they can hoist the car up..making it a lot easier to see what we are doing.

I've got lots of free backwards and forwards movement
so thats the upper cable...I hope !

Grahame
Grahame


Grahame,

Normally it's the lower cable that snapps. But I can remember one occasion when a fellow BBSer snapped the upper one.

Free AFT and FWD movement is normally the lower one... The price you bought the cable is the correct one. That bill you can't hide from... But you can drastically reduce the labour one.

Please do take pictures!! We're missing that valuable info.

Good luck,

Valter.
Valter

Job done !

completed on Friday. Took 4 hours altogether... including removal of the facia and tunnel. Managed to break a couple of clips holding the gear gaiter in place, explode an electric window switch and lose some of its parts when the facia gave way after a lot of coaxing ( and swearing ).

It was the lower cable..luckily I had bought the correct replacement.
The original had broken just inside the stem where the cable connects with the ball socket at the gearbox.
The most difficult part was removing the closing plate..bolts difficult to get to and rusted in.

So.. £69.95 for the cable..and £75 for raising the car up in a dry garage and a proper mechanic for 3 hours.

£145.....not as painfull as it could have been.

I also did a few bits and pieces I've been meaning to get around to for a while.
I found that the heatshield on the engine side of the bulkhead was the source of one of the annoying rattles..so tightened bolts and cleaned everywhere.

Happier now, but may need a new centre console / fasia.
Grahame

Grahame,

Nice to hear everything worked out.
Your cable snapped where they regularly do...
Of course it's easier once you remove the fascia and tunnel. But you really don't need to. I didn't!

Keep her running.

Cheers,

Valter.
Valter

Grahame - congratulations on completing the job :o)

Time to consider a MY2000 centre console replacement? ;o)
Rob Bell

Valter

I tried without removing the panels...but I've got the Slik shift II fitted...It seems to block the tunnel a lot more than the original. I couldn't get my arm in !

So the T bar , cubbies, tunnel and console all came out.

Rob

I put in TF seats, door panels and T bar before Christmas....So the new console may just finish it off.
I think I may go with a plain black one though...I like black next to the white dials.

....I also changed over the clock and oil temp gauge..very pleased with that, it'd been irritating me for ages.

Grahame

This thread was discussed between 12/04/2004 and 19/04/2004

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